What Becomes of Us

Day 11

They were almost out of supplies. Last night, the barricade had fallen, and a new one had to be built in a narrower passage closer to the room in which they all were staying. The sound of zombies was now much louder, and the more they listened to the moans, the more paranoid they became. Their hideout was becoming more and more dangerous by the minute.

"I think it's time we moved," Father Karlberg said.

This suggestion was not met enthusiastically, but no one could come up with any objection either. They needed food and water desperately, and remaining there was only going to be a hazard.

"Alright, then," Lee said. "Let's do a SWOT test so we can plan our move as best as possible."

"SWOT?" Zoe asked, confused.

Lee nodded. "Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats." he explained.

Everyone gathered round in a circle. "OK, what are our strengths? What do we have to our advantage?" Lee asked.

Bob immediately called out, "I've got Betsy."

Madeleine held a crowbar in her hands. "I found this in a closet down the hall. I'm not afraid of the zombies, so I can help with defense."

Zoe raised her hand. "I'm small and fast. I'm sure that has some kind of value, right?"

"Alright, then. How about weaknesses?"

"We're almost out of fuel," Father noted. "Betsy's use will have to be kept to a minimum."

Selena shuffled around a bit before raising her hand like Zoe. When everyone's eyes were on her, she gripped her bandaged right arm and whispered, "Mi herida,"

"Hmm, three of us ain't dat fast, and anudder is hurt. That'll definitely slow us down." Bob thought out loud.

Diane turned to Selena, concern in her eyes. "Will you be able to run in your condition?" she asked.

Selena was clearly not in good shape. Her eyes were dark and watery, and her limbs felt like noodles. She knew there was no way she'd be able to keep up with the rest of them.

An uneasy feeling settled over everyone. Eyes shifted back and forth between each other.

"Déjame aquí," Selena finally said, conviction in her voice.

No one could understand her, though.

When Selena realized this, she slowly worked through her mind, trying to piece the few English words she knew together.

"Leave... here," she slowly enunciated. "Me... leave here. Leave me here."

A hushed silence fell over the group. For a long time, no one could say anything. Mostly because it really did seem like the most logical thing to do.

"Are... Are you serious?!" Madeleine suddenly stood up and shouted.

A loud rattling came from the direction of the barricade. The groans of the living dead intensified in response to her voice.

"Maddie, please be quiet!" Zoe whispered urgently.

Madeleine did indeed quiet down, but her tone of voice remained intense as her fists clenched together tightly.

"How could you even think about doing such a thing?" she objected. "That is probably the worst thing we could do!"

Bob looked at her seriously. "Yer gettin' pretty emotional. Whuddever happened to taking the situation seriously?"

Madeleine lowered her head. "I am being serious. Selena," she said, turning to the immigrant. "We're not leaving you behind, no matter what. Who cares if you'll be slower than the rest of us. Bob and I will just bust some heads if anything comes too close to us."

"I do like bustin' heads," Bob mused.

A sigh of relief washed over everything. Everyone was thinking the same thing: they weren't going to leave anyone behind. But no one could actually say it out loud in the face of the shear idealism of it.

Zoe clenched her fists together and wore a determined expression on her face. "It'll work out somehow!" she said. "Zombie apocalypse? PIECE OF CAKE!!"

Everyone nodded and smiled, agreeing that they would leave as soon as the sun was out in the morning. And they all felt like everything was going to be perfect. It was horribly idealistic, but that was the only way they could be right now. Anything less would only doom them to failure before they even began.

Before they went to bed, they reinforced the barricade one last time. They gathered what was left of their supplies in one place, then laid down for what would be the longest night of their lives.